MYRTLE BEACH, SC (WBTW) – A Virginia couple was jailed while visiting Myrtle Beach after giving a 16-year-old in their care alcohol, according to Myrtle Beach Police.
An incident report from August 24 documents how Julie Cornett Bishop, 39, and Steven Thomas Bishop, 33, were seen by lifeguards giving the 16-year-old girl mimosas and beer on the beach. A lifeguard told police the couple started giving the teen alcohol around 10 a.m. that morning.
Officers arrived on scene about 5:16 p.m., and witnesses said the girl had been unconscious for some time before police were called, the report states. Witnesses went on to explain to police that while the teen was unconscious, Julie and Steven Bishop sat her in a chair and splashed water on her face. When the 16-year-old did not wake up, they took her out of the chair, laid her in the sand, gathered their belongings and left the girl lying on the beach.
Police note the 16-year-old continued to vomit and go in and out of consciousness while they were on scene. EMS transported the girl to Grand Strand Regional Hospital for treatment.
According to the police report, Julie Bishop admitted to giving the teen alcohol and leaving her on the beach while she took her belongings inside. Bishop told police, however, that the 16-year-old was not left alone; she was with her sister. Police note that no one was in sight when they arrived on scene.
In addition, Steven Bishop never tried to stop Julie Bishop from giving the teen alcohol and also left the girl on the beach to take his belongings and other two children into the hotel.
Julie and Steven Bishop are each charged with unlawful neglect of a child. Julie Bishop also faces one count of giving beer or wine to a minor.
